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AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND MANAGING TECHNIQUES AMONG SOFTWARE PROFESSIONALS IN CHENNAI Ms.K.V.Shanmugavadivu, Dr.G.Kalaimani, Assistant Professor/Research Scholar Assistant Professor, Dept of Business Administration Dept of Business Management Kongu Arts and Science College,Erode. Sri Vasavi College,Erode. Abstract In the present scenario, the dream of many of the engineering students has been IT industries where one can have secured job for a decent package. It not only determines the social status of an individual but it augments the economic growth of our nation. Such an industry is now being afflicted by occupational stress. Occupational stress occurs when there is a discrepancy between the demands of the workplace and an individual’s ability to carry out and complete these demands. To overcome with occupational stress, stress management techniques should be conduct ongoing schedule and in also annual programs. Keywords: IT industries, occupational stress, health, stress managing techniques. I. INTRODUCTION STRESS What is stress? Stress is the body's reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses. Stress is a normal part of life. You can experience stress from your environment, your body, and your thoughts. Even positive life changes such as a promotion, a mortgage, or the birth of a child produce stress. Stress is a normal reaction the body has when changes occur. It can respond to these changes physically, mentally, or emotionally. Stress at work is a relatively new phenomenon of modern lifestyles. The word, STRESS” has been derived from Latin word, “Stringere” which means to draw tight. The term is used to refer to hardship, strain, adversity or affliction. Various terms have been synonymously used with stress such as anxiety, frustration, and pressure. Hans Selye (1936), who defined it as “the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change”. Science, Technology and Development Volume IX Issue IV APRIL 2020 ISSN : 0950-0707 Page No : 344

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Page 1: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND …journalstd.com/gallery/43-april2020.pdf · When thing triggers a stressful reaction, over 1400 chemical changes take place in the

AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND MANAGING

TECHNIQUES AMONG SOFTWARE PROFESSIONALS IN CHENNAI

Ms.K.V.Shanmugavadivu, Dr.G.Kalaimani,

Assistant Professor/Research Scholar Assistant Professor,

Dept of Business Administration Dept of Business Management

Kongu Arts and Science College,Erode. Sri Vasavi College,Erode.

Abstract

In the present scenario, the dream of many of the engineering students has been IT

industries where one can have secured job for a decent package. It not only determines the social

status of an individual but it augments the economic growth of our nation. Such an industry is now

being afflicted by occupational stress. Occupational stress occurs when there is a discrepancy

between the demands of the workplace and an individual’s ability to carry out and complete these

demands. To overcome with occupational stress, stress management techniques should be conduct

ongoing schedule and in also annual programs.

Keywords: IT industries, occupational stress, health, stress managing techniques.

I. INTRODUCTION

STRESS

What is stress?

Stress is the body's reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The

body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses. Stress is a normal

part of life. You can experience stress from your environment, your body, and your thoughts. Even

positive life changes such as a promotion, a mortgage, or the birth of a child produce stress.

Stress is a normal reaction the body has when changes occur. It can respond to these changes

physically, mentally, or emotionally.

Stress at work is a relatively new phenomenon of modern lifestyles. The word, STRESS”

has been derived from Latin word, “Stringere” which means to draw tight. The term is used to

refer to hardship, strain, adversity or affliction. Various terms have been synonymously used with

stress such as anxiety, frustration, and pressure.

Hans Selye (1936), who defined it as “the non-specific response of the body to any demand for

change”.

Science, Technology and Development

Volume IX Issue IV APRIL 2020

ISSN : 0950-0707

Page No : 344

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Kellie Marksberry (2017) Stress is not a useful term for scientists because it is such a highly

subjective phenomenon that it defies definition.

Occupational Stress

Occupational Stress is stress at work. Stress is defined in terms of its physical and

physiological effects in a person. Stress is mental, physical or emotional strain or tension or it is a

situation or factor that can cause distress. Occupational stress occurs when there is a discrepancy

between the demands of the workplace and an individual’s ability to carry out and complete these

demands. Often a stressor can lead the body to have a physiological change which in turn will

cause physical as well as mental strain.

MAJOR SOURCES OF STRESS IN IT INDUSTRY

It is a well-established fact that specific conditions cause stress in an individual differ from

one person to another. This is mainly due to the fact that a specific situation is perceived

differently by different people. However, there are some specific situations that can cause

workplace stress.

The workplace had become a high stress environment in many organizations cutting across

industries. In IT industry, employees were experiencing high level of stress due to various factors.

Some of the major sources of stresses in the IT industry are explained below;

Long working hours

The fear of losing a job make employees want to work harder to be able to outperform their

colleagues in the desire to impress the bosses. Long hours are not only physically tiring but can a

high alert state throughout the day can drain employee’s mind completely.

Long working hours and odd hours is the greatest cause of stress for Indian IT industry. This is

the major reasons for high rate of attrition in the industry. Long hours, in itself, is a combination

of work load. In the industry workload is tremendous plus the time involved in traveling between

home and office. The employees have to work for 11-12 hours per day-the number goes up to 14

in case of companies that encourage overtime.

Technology

Computers and mobile phones were developed to make life easier, faster and more

convenient for man. However, with new technologies being launched each day there is a large

pressure on workers to stay up-to-date with every new technology. Accompanied by this, the

workload does not seem to have reduced with the use of technologies. Instead the demands from

humans keep increasing continuously.

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Job insecurity

The competition in the market, economic conditions, mergers and acquisitions and better

technologies are making resources redundant. In such a situation every employee is pushed

towards saving his place irrespective of what it takes to do so. Back-biting, taking credit for

where it is not due and other such unprofessional behavior breeds.

Discrimination

While not a global cause of workplace stress, discrimination is however extremely rampant

in various offices. The discrimination could be on the basis of sex, race, religion or nationality.

Any such discrimination makes the targeted employee feel extremely tense at work all the time.

While the first thing that comes to mind is sexual harassment that is fairly rampant, especially in

IT industries where large number of female employees are employed, other forms of physical

harassment and mental torture have also been known to exist.

Economic factors

With the industrial and the information technology revolution, better productivity has

become possible. This has resulted in investors putting pressure on the management to get better

bottom line results. Higher competition, lack of worker unions and a hire-and-fire attitude has

increases the fear of a job loss to an extent where even high performers do not consider

themselves safe from a "pink slip".

Harassment

Economic problems created by individuals overextending their financial resources are

another set of personal troubles that can create stress for employees and distract their attention

from their work.

Personality type

Personality characteristics such as authoritarianism, rigidly, masculinity, femininity,

extraversion, supportiveness, spontaneity, emotionality, tolerance, locus of control, anxiety, and

need for achievements are particularly relevant to individual stress.

Work overload

Too much work causes stress to an employee. Excess workload has become the norm these

days as more and more organizations have reduced their work-force and restructured work,

leaving the remaining employees with more tasks and fewer resources of time to complete them.

Role conflict

Role conflict occurs where people face competing demands. There are two types of role

conflict in the organization. Interrole conflict occurs when an employee has two roles that are in

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conflict with each other. Personal conflict occurs when personal values clash with organizational

goals.

Role ambiguity

Role ambiguity exists when employees are uncertain about their responsibilities, functions,

performance expectations and levels of authority. This tends to occur when people enter new

situations, such as joining the organization or taking foreign assignments, because they are

uncertain about tasks and social expectations.

What are the warning signs of stress?

Chronic stress can wear down the body's natural defenses, leading to a variety of physical

symptoms, including the following:

Dizziness or a general feeling of "being out of it."

General aches and pains.

Grinding teeth, clenched jaw.

Headaches.

Indigestion or acid reflux symptoms.

Increase in or loss of appetite.

Muscle tension in neck, face or shoulders.

Problems sleeping.

Racing heart.

Cold and sweaty palms.

Tiredness, exhaustion.

Trembling/shaking.

Weight gain or loss.

Upset stomach, diarrhea.

Sexual difficulties.

How does stress affect health?

The human body is designed to experience stress and react to it. Stress can be positive,

keeping us alert, motivated, and ready to avoid danger. Stress becomes negative when a person

faces continuous challenges without relief or relaxation between stressors. As a result, the person

becomes overworked, and stress-related tension builds. The body's autonomic nervous system has

a built-in stress response that causes physiological changes to allow the body to combat stressful

situations. This stress response, also known as the "fight or flight response", is activated in case

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of an emergency. However, this response can become chronically activated during prolonged

periods of stress. Prolonged activation of the stress response causes wear and tear on the body –

both physical and emotional.

Stress that continues without relief can lead to a condition called distress – a negative stress

reaction. Distress can disturb the body's internal balance or equilibrium, leading to physical

symptoms such as headaches, an upset stomach, elevated blood pressure, chest pain, sexual

dysfunction, and problems sleeping. Emotional problems can also result from distress. These

problems include depression, panic attacks, or other forms of anxiety and worry. Research

suggests that stress also can bring on or worsen certain symptoms or diseases. Stress is linked to 6

of the leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the

liver, and suicide.

Stress also becomes harmful when people engage in the compulsive use of substances or

behaviors to try to relieve their stress. These substances or behaviors include food, alcohol,

tobacco, drugs, gambling, sex, shopping, and the Internet. Rather than relieving the stress and

returning the body to a relaxed state, these substances and compulsive behaviors tend to keep the

body in a stressed state and cause more problems. The distressed person becomes trapped in a

vicious circle.

STRESS MANAGING TECHNIQUES

Positive and Negative Coping Methods:

We would be discussing the positive coping in the Kosha model of stress but, for

greater awareness, we must see how we cope negatively and that it become a vicious circle.

Some negative paths are illustrated below:

Impulsive Behaviour: Acting before thinking about consequences, brining, continually

getting into trouble.

Compulsive Behaviour: Addictive-like behaviour that gets out of control and results in

overindulging, alcoholism, drug abuse, excessive eating, smoking, shopping, sex,

gambling.

Obsessive Behaviour: Meticulous-like behaviour that we find the need to repeat over

again-picky, neat freak, overly organised, rigid thinking, inflexible, etc.

Vindictive Behaviour: Seeking revenge for real or imagined hurts or offenses, conniving,

stubborn.

Blaming Behaviour: Laying the blame for problems on others, fault finding, overly critical.

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Worrying: Anxious, tense, keeping the problem in constant focus, not being able to let go

of it, mulling over the problem in your mind.

Anger: Having temper tantrums, ventilating hostility, using sarcasm, cynicism, and

screaming.

Withdrawn Behaviour: Denial of problem, passivity in the face of stress, pulling away,

isolation.

Depressed Behaviour: Weepy or tearful, blue, despairing, guilty, downcast, and lethargic.

Illness: Real or psychosomatic illnesses, headaches, back pain, muscle tension,

gastrointestinal problems, hypertension, and diabetes. There are many illnesses related to

stress, some terminal.

Let Food be the Medicine:

Some people live to eat and a few eat to live. Every activity is dependent on the energy we

derive from the intake of food. At least 50% of executives feel that the food they like and enjoy

are not good for them. Mr Thakur, Vice President of Bhilwara Group, loves samosa but after

eating he develops a guilt feeling and says “I should not have taken it”. Dr B D Sharma, Prime

Minister’s Physician, observed that 70 per cent of Indians are dying from diseases that are directly

related to eating habits. Stressor foods are those foods that rob the body rather than nourish it.

When thing triggers a stressful reaction, over 1400 chemical changes take place in the body. These

use up (or block) many key nutrients, including B-complex, vitamin A, vitamin C, and

magnesium. Most executives eat junk food 85% of the time and good food only 15% of the time.

The CEO recipe for unhealthy living includes high-calorie lunches and dining with customers and

advisers. Most of us view food in complex ways:

Source of pleasure

Emotional satisfaction in a hostile world

Means of recovering expended energy

Occasion – marriage, free lunch

Cultural customs

Individual likes and dislikes

Coping with stress

Availability factor

Economic-cost factor.

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Components of Food:

People don’t want to be told to eat vegetables, fruit and soup all the time. “Eating healthy

does not mean starving; it means eating foods the right way and in right quantities,” says Jyotsna

Radja, nutritionist, Apollo Health. The Chief and CEO of the speciality Thai food restaurant,

Benjarong, Regi Mathew, says boiled peas and cabbage are healthy but rather boring. “So we

combine health foods to make them more interesting”. B V S Reddy, senior vice-president, Savera

Hotels, observed, “There is a demand for food that is wholesome”. Foods are composed of six

classes of nutrients:

Carbohydrates – simple, complex

Protein

Fats – saturated, unsaturated

Vitamins – A, B, C, D, E, K

Minerals

Fiber

Water – mineral, plain water

Carbohydrates:

We can increase tolerance to stress by increasing our intake of complex carbohydrates to as

much as 80% of our caloric intake.

Protein:

The word protein is of Greek derivation, meaning ‘primary’ or ‘holding first place’. This is

an indication of the importance of protein in the diet. Protein helps to build new cells and repair

damaged tissues.

Vitamins and Minerals:

These are essential for growth, tissue repair and regulating the metabolism. Most vitamins

cannot be made in the body so it is important to ensure that we get them from our food.

Vitamins and Their Uses:

Vitamin A

Vitamin B

Vitamin C

Vitamin D

Vitamin E

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Minerals and Their Uses:

Calcium and phosphorus: For adults during pregnancy and old age, for all cases of

calcium deficiency, and for protecting teeth and bones.

Iron: Common symptoms of iron deficiency are fatigue, rough skin and brittle hair,

susceptibility to infections, palpitations, loss of appetite and breathlessness.

Iodine: Promotes physical and mental energy and alertness. Aids assimilation of Vitamin

E.

Some Simple Exercises at work:

Use these relaxation exercises at any time during the workday when you need to release tension

and stiffness and to focus.

1. Facial Tensions: Simulate yawning. Close eyes and yawn three times. When yawning,

exhale. On exhaling let go of the tension.

2. Leg: alternatively curl and stretch the toes three times; alternatively bend and stretch the

legs three times; rotate ankles, knee three times; place leg on the floor and loosen hip

alternatively drawing arms back.

3. Arms/Hands: Move hands up and down bending from wrist three times; stretch fingers,

then make fist three times; do for wrist and elbow three times.

4. Shoulders: Raise right then left shoulder up towards the ear; alternatively, three times

tense and drop; move shoulders forward then backward; cross left arms and right arms

over chest; place finger on shoulders and slowly draw circle clockwise and anticlockwise.

5. Head and Neck: Drop the chin to the chest. Feel the weight of the head stretch out to the

back of your neck (hold); Look as far as you can over your right shoulder (hold); Look as

far as over your left shoulder (hold); Drop your right ear to your left shoulder (hold). So,

here are a few tips:

Start easy - especially if you have been inactive

Make it fun - do something you enjoy

Join a team or group

Work out with a friend

Cross-train – vary routine by engaging in various activities.

6. Massage: Massage Therapy (MT) can be useful for treating those with acute or chronic

physical pains as well as psychological problems such as eating disorders, inadequate self-

image, lack of confidence, physical, sexual and emotional abuse victims and many more.

Everybody needs to be touched and, generally speaking, lack of tactile nourishment is a

common problem for a lot of people.

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7. Progressive Muscles Relaxation: this involves systematically tensing and relaxing

sixteen muscle groups throughout our body. This involves five steps in all:

Focus: Focus attention on a particular muscle group

Tense: Muscle group

Hold: Maintain the tension for five to seven seconds

Release: Release the tension in muscle group

Relax: Spend twenty to thirty seconds focusing on letting go of tension and further

relaxing the muscle groups.

8. Swimming: If there is an ideal activity, it is swimming. It is excellent for strength, stamina

and suppleness, especially if we use various strokes. It’s a great way to get fit and stay fit.

Swimming is especially good if we’re overweight or have any backache, stiffness or

disability, because our body is supported by water.

9. Cycling: Cycling is great for stamina and leg strength. It won’t do much for our

suppleness if we’re young, but if we’re older, it will really help to keep us moving.

Tips for reducing stress

People can learn to manage stress and lead happier, healthier lives. You may want to begin with

the following tips:

Keep a positive attitude.

Accept that there are events that you cannot control.

Be assertive instead of aggressive. Assert your feelings, opinions, or beliefs instead of

becoming angry, defensive, or passive.

Learn and practice relaxation techniques; try meditation, yoga, or tai-chi.

Exercise regularly. Your body can fight stress better when it is fit.

Eat healthy, well-balanced meals.

Learn to manage your time more effectively.

Set limits appropriately and say no to requests that would create excessive stress in your

life.

Make time for hobbies and interests.

Get enough rest and sleep. Your body needs time to recover from stressful events.

Don't rely on alcohol, drugs, or compulsive behaviors to reduce stress.

Seek out social support. Spend enough time with those you love.

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Seek treatment with a psychologist or other mental health professional trained in stress

management or biofeedback techniques to learn more healthy ways of dealing with the

stress in your life.

II. OBJECTIVES

1. To study the socio-economic characteristics of the software professionals.

2. To access the level of job stress of the respondents.

3. To know the level of job satisfaction of the respondents.

4. To find the health problems of the employees.

A detailed survey questionnaire was used to collect primary information from the sample

respondents with a sample size of 317 randomly among IT professionals at various positions. A

questions regarding the nature of the work, employment status, job satisfaction, stress causing

factors in an organization, working hours, work environment and health problems. The collected

information was analyzed and the results were presented.

III. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Review of literature paves way for a clear understanding of the areas of research already

undertaken and throws a light on the potential areas which are yet to be covered. Keeping this

view in mind, an attempt has been made to make a brief survey of the work undertaken on the

field of occupational stress. This chapter deals with the review of literature concerned with the

subject of this study.

Michie (2002) associated workplace factors with stress and health risks that can be

categorised as those to do with the content of work and those to do with the social and

organisational context of work (Figure 2.1). Those that are intrinsic to the job include long

hours, work overload, time pressure, difficult or complex tasks, lack of breaks, lack of

variety, and poor physical work conditions (for example, space, temperature, light).

Olatunji,(2014) McCaffrey and Blanchard,(1985), they stressed that India being a leading

sector in Information Technology, its development largely depends on its employee’s’ mental

and physical health. Moderate stress is long term might be a risk factor for developing various

health problems among software engineers. This might indirectly hinder the progress of software

organizations. Preventive strategies like training in stress management might help the software

professionals to cope with their profession better without affecting their lifestyle and health.

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Alireza Bolhai, ali Rezaian, jafar Bolhari, and Bairamzadeh(2012), the article focus on the

occupational stress among information technology(IT) professionals to measure the level of

occupational stress and studied the relationship between occupational stress level of IT

professional and gender, age, work experience and stress management courses.

Gladies J. J. & Kennedy V.(2011)- The author revealed a significant correlation

between Organizational Climate and Job Stress among the women working in IT

companies of India. According to him, learning how to manage stress is a very crucial

issue that should be developed in IT companies so that they can reduce or eliminate the

causes of stress and poor working environment.

Charu M. (2013) He in his study stated that higher stress is directly proportional to

quality of work life for IT professionals. He outlined few factors namely fair pay

structure, steady role demands, supervisory support, congenial job environment,

capability fit of the job, role autonomy and stress that directly affect the quality of work

life. The main reason of stress amongst the associates of IT industry is the rapid change

in technology.

Khalid A. (2012)- There is a direct relationship between stress and job performance

in any organization. To improve the performance of an individual in an organization an

employee should receive good support from their leaders. Hence, a supportive

leader can improve the performance of an employee even at unfavorable situations.5

Kavitha(2012)-The article focuses on the organizational role stress for the employees in

the IT sector. It also highlights that women face more stress than men in the

organization to be more specific married women faces more stress than the unmarried

women.6

Richardson (2008) A classification of stress interventions has been done, those are

primary, secondary and tertiary. He suggested all the employees to adopt relaxation

training intervention for stress management which is the easiest and least expensive

approach to implement.

P.S. Swaminathan,& Rajkumar S. (2013) He conducted a study that focused on the

levels of stress among the age group, profession, different varieties of jobs, hours of

work and the influence of work environment on the degree of stress faced by

employees. Stress in an employee is very individual in nature. His study indicates

about an optimum level in which every individual can perform with his full capacity. He

has identified three conditions responsible for work stress they are a) Role overload b)

Role self distance c) Role stagnation.

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Satija S. & Khan W. (2013) - According to him Occupational Stress is as same as Job

Stress that need to be controlled at the workplace otherwise it will affect negatively

employee’s work attitudes and behavior. He conducted a study to investigate the

relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Occupational Stress. The findings of

his study revealed that Emotional Intelligence as a significant predictor of Occupational

Stress.

Bhatti N., Shar H. A., Shaikh F. M. & Nazar M. S.(2010) He has classified stressors

broadly into two main types-a) Extra-Organizational and b) Intra-Organizational

Stressors. According to his study he predicted that the major causes of stress are firstly

workload that causes 25% of stress, secondly timings that results 16% of stress, thirdly

climate that causes 11% of stress.

Sharma S., Sharma J. & Devi A.(2012)- The level of stress within a role varies

because of individual differences in mindset, age, gender, and their performance in

job. However, various factors that influence stress are age where the younger

employees are more stressed as compared to other employees, level of qualification,

pay, authorities of control, awards, word of praise, improved designations and working

couples. The study recommended a reinforcement approach that should be positive in

nature so as to reduce the degree of stress at the workplace.

Rosasa J. H. A, Blevinsb R. C., Gaoc H., Tengb W. Y. & White J. (2011) It reveals

the levels of stress that differ by occupational position, and not by age and gender. The

analysis shows that female had higher stress rates than males. The main problems

faced by students due to stress are sleep- ing problems, depression and irritability.

Srivastav A.K. (2010) The articles focus on the nature of role that causes stress. It says

role performance encountered the problems of stress so they should be tried to reduce

or eliminated. The nature of role stress was found to be heterogeneous which cannot be

dealt with one uniform solution or intervention as a whole. Hence, specific problem

related solution or interventions should be adapted for better organizational

performance and effectiveness.

A. Y. Tatheer (2013) Majority of the bankers of Pakistan claim that they are highly

stressed because of their jobs that not only affect their performance in banks but also

equally af- fect their health and personal life. They also declare that the organizational

politics and bureaucracy are the main reasons of stress in their banks.

Michailidis M. and Georgiou Y. (2005) The author focus on the degree of occupational

stress that is influenced by the fac- tors like level of education, various patterns of their

relaxation and any other habits like drinking or smoking . The implications say that

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consuming alcoholic drinks is the main factor that determines the degree of occupational

stress in an individual.

Sinha V. and Subramanian K.S. (2012) The study highlights that various levels of

organization experience different kind of organizational role stress. It also states that

stress is influenced by various factors like shortage of resources, inadequacy within a

person, overload with a role, stagnation of a role and isolation and expectation of a role.

V. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

6.2.1. THE DEMOGRAPHIC DETAILS:

Table 5.1 A) Number of Male and Female Respondents:

S.No. Gender No. of Respondents Percentage

1 Male 220 69.40

2 Female 97 30.60

Total 317 100

220

69.4

97

30.6

0

50

100

150

200

250

No. of Respondents Percentage

Gender of the Redpondents

Male

Female

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Table 5.2 B) Age Group of the Respondents:

S.No. Age No. of Respondents Percentage

1 21-25 65 20.50

2 26-30 162 51.10

3 31-35 57 17.99

4 36-40 22 6.94

5 41 & Above 11 3.47

Total 317 100

65

162

57

2211

20.5

51.1

17.996.94 3.47

21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41 & Above

Age of the Respondents

No. of Respondents Percentage

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Table 5.3 FACTORS CAUSING STRESS OF THE EMPLOYEES

S.No. Factors for stress No.of

Respondents

(Yes)

No.of

Respondents

(No)

Yes(%) No(%)

1 Working hours 196 121 61.9 38.1

2 Organizational

culture 98 219 30.92 69.08

3 Work load and

work pace 201 116 63.40 36.60

4 Career

development 82 235 25.86 74.14

5 Status and pay 165 152 52.05 47.95

6 Lack of promotion

opportunities 113 204 35.65 64.35

7 Work-life balance 146 171 46.05 53.95

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Table 5.4 HEALTH PROBLEMS FACED BY THE EMPLOYEES

S.No. Health Problems No. of

Respondents

Percentage

Yes No Yes No

1 Headache 262 55 82.7 17.3

2 Back pain 148 169 46.7 53.3

3 Sinus / Asthma 43 274 13.6 86.4

4 Hypertensions 74 243 23.4 76.6

5 Allergies 68 249 21.5 78.5

6 Heart Disease 35 282 11.1 88.9

7 Anger 127 190 40.1 59.9

8 Depression/ Anxiety 214 103 67.6 32.4

9 Skin Problem / Hair

Problem

113 204 35.7 64.3

10 Blood Pressure 51 266 16.1 83.9

11 Lack of Sleep 263 54 83.0 17.0

12 Diabetes 18 299 5.7 94.3

61.9

30.92

63.4

25.86

52.05

35.65

46.0538.1

69.08

36.6

74.14

47.95

64.35

53.95

Factors causing stress of the Employees

Yes(%) No(%)

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13 Eye problems 39 278 12.4 87.6

INTERPRETATION

According to the questionnaire conducted by the IT Professionals 64% of them

are undergraduates and 26% of them are post graduates and 10% of them are diploma. Majority

(44%) of IT professionals are entry level professionals; followed by 38% of middle level

professionals and 18% of them are senior level professionals. 50% of the respondents whose

nature of job is temporary and 40% of them are in permanent jobs and small groups of people are

unaware of the nature of the job and some of them are having part-time job. The study revealed

that 36% of the respondents were satisfied with their present job and remaining 40% of them

have voted for a neutral statement and 24% of the respondents are not satisfied with the current

job. 60% of the respondents revealed that physical environment is the reason for stress due to

increase in workload and improper recognition and biased treatment of superiors. Forty per cent

of them have frequent arguments with superiors; 24% they never entered into an argument with

their superiors and 36% of them rarely disagree with the opinion of the superiors. Majority

(52%) of the IT Professionals expressed that the work stress affects the mental health; 18%

expressed that stress of work affects the quality time; 18% expressed that the stress affects time

82.7

46.7

13.6

23.4 21.5

11.1

40.1

67.6

35.7

16.1

83

5.712.4

17.3

53.3

86.4

76.6 78.5

88.9

59.9

32.4

64.3

83.9

17

94.387.6

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100Health Problems faced by the Employees

Percentage Yes

Percentage No

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spend with family members and 12% revealed that it affects the physical health. Among the

respondents 46% said that they have neutral idea about the superior delegation of authority; 28%

of them said that authority does not delegate responsibility properly and 26% of them said that

they properly delegate the authority. 34% of the respondents revealed that they are working for 8

hours per day; 26% expressed that they are working more than 8 hours in a day; 22% of them

working for 7 hours per day and 18% for 6 hours. The nature of the organization is questioned

and 56% opined that their organization is departmental organization and remaining 44% of them

are working in centralized organization. The majority of the organizations promote stress relief

activities (53%) and remaining 47% of the organizations never worried about the stress faced by

employees.

CONCLUSION

The daily impact of IT on our lives continues unabated. As innovations and computer

capacities increase this influence will continue to grow in the coming years at an increasing rate.

As technology advances, there is also increased stress that is associated with it called as

“technology stress.” IT is here to stay. This brings extra pressure on people to adapt to new

advancements and update their knowledge in their field. Stress management programs like yoga,

meditation and other distressing activities like aerobics, dance etc., would prevent or reduce risk

of disease due to stress in IT people which in turn will produce a healthy community.

To manage stress these people need to play sport, have a hobby or just have a good holiday.

Healthy employees mean better performance by employee that in turn produce a healthy

community.

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